Television presenter Robert Peston told viewers he felt destined for the sack after veteran actress Miriam Margolyes used an expletive during a live Sunday morning interview.

The journalist, host of ITV’s Peston On Sunday, was left aghast as the 76-year-old said the F-word while regaling an anecdote involving American film star Warren Beatty.

The actress, adored by children through her roles in the likes of family-friendly films Babe, Mulan and Harry Potter, had initially prefaced the story by asking if she could use a “bad word”, something acceded to by the presenter.

Margolyes appeared to put her hand over her mouth in surprise following the apology.

The exchange – edited out of the subsequent re-run of the show on the ITV+1 channel – amused many on social media.

Earlier, the celebrated actress described how she agreed with the principles of the #MeToo movement – which aims to shine a spotlight on sexual abuse of women – but said it had the potential to lose sight of its aims.

She said: “It can overbalance and become a witch-hunt.

“I think people talking about hand-on-the-knee 15 years ago is not serious enough.

“Rape and pushing into a woman – it’s obvious what’s assault and what isn’t.”